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Friday, Jan 19, 2018 04:00 AM

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The Rams’ Culture of ‘We’

Kristen Lago

Rams Writer/Reporter

Head coach Sean McVay began the offseason program in April sporting a “We Not Me” T-shirt — a phrase that became a rallying cry for the Rams in 2017. After winning the franchise’s first NFC West title since 2003, here’s what some said the phrase means to them.

“I think what’s so special about football is there’s something truly special about being part of something bigger than yourself. It’s about just making sure that we’re a connected team — we stay connected through the adversity, we don’t get too high when things are going well for us. The ‘We not me’ — it’s all about the team. While we always might not be able to do things that makes everybody happy, I think everybody understands that we’re intentional, [and] things are consistently handled the right way. That’s really what the ‘We not me’ means.”

— Head coach Sean McVay

“It means everything. A bigger picture-type of thing and then just focusing on — even though I’m having a bad day, you just have to know that, hey, someone else is watching me. You’ve just got to be positive. Or you just have to fight through things for other people — not just yourself. And it all comes down to everyone as one.”

— Running back Todd Gurley

“I think ‘We not me’ means everything you do is for the greater of the team. You don’t do anything to benefit yourself if it’s not benefiting the team. Just to have an unselfish attitude.”

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— Quarterback Jared Goff

“‘We Not Me’ means it’s all about the team. No one man is bigger than the team. We are all here for the same goal and we all have to do our part to reach that goal. If you’re not doing the right thing to help this team win, you’re not part of the ‘we,’ you’re being a ‘me.’”

— Middle linebacker Alec Ogletree

“It’s a team above yourself type of philosophy. We’re brothers and we think of this as a family. Giving everything you have for your brothers is the ‘we not me’ mentality.”

— Defensive tackle Michael Brockers

“It means that we have to play for each other, and play together. There’s a lot of individual accolades out there and I think that we’ve done a good job not paying attention to them and more just worrying about the team and where the team’s going to go. That selflessness is why we see a lot of success.”

— Left Guard Rodger Saffold

“You could tell that the players were buying into it. And even the guys that were here with the old staff, you can tell that they had to make some adjustments to buy into the ‘We’ mentality. We’re a well-connected team and we’re together off the field, so you can just tell — the culture is different around here.”

— Strong safety John Johnson III

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